Tuesday, 11 December, 2018

Christmas 2017 At Gardens By The Bay

Christmas 2017 At Gardens By The Bay

Posted on Friday, 15 December, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

Christmas 2017 At Gardens By The Bay.

Experience a Nordic Noel this festive season as the Flower Dome is transformed into a wintry wonderland. An oversized lavvu – a tent-like dwelling used by the indigenous Sami people from Sápmi – takes centre stage, ensconcing visitors within its cosy interior. Outside, poinsettias, amaryllis, Christmas trees and other lovely flowers and plants mark the season. Santa’s presence is everywhere, from his reading cabin and post office where he receives letters from well-behaved children to a toy workshop manned by Christmas elves, and even a candy store. On selected days in December, visitors can look forward to meeting Santa Claus, who has travelled to the tropics all the way from Lapland. For an extra unique experience, visit after dusk to see the floral display aglow with pretty lights, as a projection of Northern Lights weaves its spellbinding magic! The Christmas exhibits will be in place till Monday, 8 January 2018. Credit: Gardens By The Bay.

NGC 7822 in Cepheus.
Credit & Copyright: Neil Fleming. Pillars of gas, dust, and young, hot stars seem to fill the gaping maw of NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus, the glowing star-forming region lies about 3,000 light-years away. The image includes data from both broadband and narrowband filters, mapping emission from atomic oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur into blue, green, and red hues powered by the energetic radiation from the hot stars, whose powerful winds and radiation also sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse, but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff. This field spans around 60 light-years.

December 9: The Moon passes 1.1° north of Saturn, 5h UT (12 AM EST).

December 10: The Moon passes 0.7° north of Pluto, 4h UT 11 PM EST).

December 12: The Moon is at apogee (405,177 km from Earth), 12h25m UT (7:25 AM EST).

December 14: Geminid meteor shower peaks.

December 14: The Moon passes 3° south of Neptune 7h20m UT (2:20 AM EST).

December 14: The Moon passes 4° south of Mars, 23h UT (6 PM EST).

December 15: First Quarter Moon occurs at, 11h49m UT (6:49 AM EST).

December 15: Mercury is at greatest western elongation (21°), 12h UT (7 AM EST).

Credit: Astronomy.

The Flag of Niger was inaugurated in 1959, a year prior to its formal independence from France, consisted of the colours of orange, white and green, in equal horizontal bands, with an orange roundel in the centre. The upper orange band represents the northern regions of the Sahara Desert, the white band represents purity, and the green band represents both hope and the fertile regions of southern Niger. The orange circle is said to represent the sun or independence.

Sunflowers (Tournesols) is the name of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The first series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set, executed a year later in Arles, shows a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions. On March 30, 1987, Japanese insurance magnate, Yasuo Goto, paid the equivalent of US $39,921,750 for van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers at auction at Christie's London. The painting currently resides at Seiji Togo Yasuda Memorial Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.

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